December 28th, 2001
December 28th, 2001
In the morning, Sam found himself milling about the apartment again. It was a familiar scene. Randy was asleep very deeply in his room. Last night had taken it out of him, for sure. They didn't get home until very late and he'd had a lot of food, all told. Sam would have to wake him so he could eat soon, but he was glad to give him rest. While he was asleep, he couldn't think of troubling things such as not having a ballet coach for the time being.
He picked up Princess and decided to play with her in the living room for a bit. She'd received some toys for Christmas as well, all in pink. He started to throw a ball around for her and surprisingly Darla decided to jump in. They play with each other, struggling for the ball. Princess leapt towards the back of the room, going around the couch.
"There's no ball over there, hey," Sam chuckled. Darla brought him back the ball loyally. He threw it again, an overarching shot, behind the couch. Princess let out a snuffly bark of surprise. Darla spun around to try to get it, but Princess came out from behind the couch with the small pink ball in her mouth.
Sam smiled as he received it from Princess. He kept throwing it, enjoying seeing them and knowing they were getting good exercise. He'd eaten a larger breakfast just because he could. He felt sluggish and was glad he didn't have to run around with them.
Anais was at the office talking to them further about costumes. They apparently had to get her costume's colors right before they could figure out costumes for dancers. They wanted six dancers this time. It made sense to Sam that they were recruiting dancers now. Yuna had called him and asked if he knew anything about that, but he'd reminded her that he likes to keep out of the business side of the family. She accepted that.
He did wonder about the dancers for this tour. In previous ones, there'd been ten or twelve. They had a good routine going, where some dancers would dance some days, others would dance the remaining days. Switching them out. A lot of venues in the summer were outdoors, so it'd be hot. They didn't want anyone getting sick from the heat or overexertion. This is why they seemed to recruit them younger and younger, too. Younger people could withstand the working conditions, that was sure.
Something Sam liked about how they chose dancers was that they never discriminated against which country a dancer was from. If they felt you could keep up with the challenging choreography, then they offered you an interview. It often took them a surprising amount of tries. Anais had lamented this many times to Sam. She thought it was because most people hadn't heard of her, despite being a major artist.
Sam did wonder why they didn't just contact agencies.
Eventually, Randy woke up and started going around the apartment. He was still in his pajamas. Sam heard the fridge open. He kept playing with the dogs, hearing Princess's yelps and the thumping of their feet as they ran again. He thought maybe Darla hadn't gotten exercise like this is years.
Eventually, Darla flopped down and Princess came over to chew on her ear. Sam chuckled at them and gave Princess the ball. She chewed on that instead.
Sam sat down in the dining room with Randy. He'd made himself some eggs. Sam thought that wasn't enough and decided to make him some toast when he finished.
"Any plans for new year's?" Sam asked. Trying to get him excited about it.
"Nope." Randy put more egg in his mouth.
It was true. There wasn't much a minor could do in Paris on new year's.
"You want to do new year's at Disneyland Paris?" It was a good idea.
"Maybe. Don't you want to spend it with your wife?"
He smirked. "She can come with us."
"I'd feel like the third wheel..."
"Nah, you wouldn't. We'd all have fun together. I think we should."
Randy was smiling at this. Good. At least now they had a plan. He knew Anais would be too busy to take him out, and no doubt Maya was going somewhere. Sam really didn't mind spending new year's with Randy, and he was sure his wife would make the day special, too.
"Ugh. I don't feel good."
Randy was putting his head in his hands. Not good.
Sam got up and swung around the table. "What kind of not good? Is that why you only made yourself eggs?"
He nodded. "I thought I could eat them."
Sam rubbed his arm. "I'll get you a protein shake so you have something. I'll check your blood sugar and everything. You don't feel like you're twilighting or anything?"
"I'm not sure."
Not good.
"Go lay down on a couch. I'll get you a protein shake."
"Okay."
They left his plate where it was. Sam wasn't too concerned about one of the dogs getting it, but he wouldn't leave it there for long. He went to the fridge and got a protein shake out. He thought likely this was low blood sugar. It was a good guess. Randy hadn't eaten anything today. Maybe they'd left it too long. A protein shake would gently get him back up.
He brought it into the living room. Randy had covered himself with his blanket and brought Princess onto his chest. If he felt like he might have a seizure, Princess couldn't be there.
With one swift movement, Sam took Princess and exchanged her for a protein shake. Randy sat up and drank it slowly. Sam preferred him to do that. Princess was rumbly on his arm. She wanted to be let down. He'd never felt or heard her growl before, so he tried not to laugh. He let her down. She leapt away behind the couch.
Sam decided to get Randy a piece of chocolate, too. He didn't want him to have a seizure. If he did, they'd have to go to the hospital as well, no matter the result of the seizure. He didn't want him to have to do that.
Randy stopped drinking and his head went back on the backrest of the couch. He moaned a little.
"I'm going to get you some chocolate."
"Okay. I think some of Maya's is still under the tree."
That made Sam uneasy. "Where the dogs can get it? I'm glad you said something."
"Oh my god I didn't even think about that."
Sam rescued it from under the tree. He decided to hold it now that it was open, just in case. This as exactly the sort of situation where he wouldn't see a small puppy chowing down on chocolate if something were to go wrong.
He gave Randy a small white chocolate seashell. Randy ate it and crunched it slowly. He was moving slowly a lot today. Sam sat next to him. If he thought about it, Randy had eaten some sugar last night with the ice cream. Maybe his body had crashed with that while he slept. It made sense.
He gave Randy another chocolate. He didn't seem to want to finish his protein shake. He chewed it and closed his eyes. Sam let him put his head on his shoulder. It was a good way for Sam to monitor him. He'd know the moment Randy started shaking if he started.
Twenty minutes passed on the antique clock in the room and Randy seemed fine. In fact, he was asleep. Sam decided to stay there like this. Princess came back and started chewing on his sock. He wiggled his toes for her and she made a game of it. Making small puppy noises of frustration. Sam found himself smiling at her, intensifying the game. She latched onto his toe and he wiggled her whole body. It reminded him of a Looney Tunes cartoon. He was trying so hard not to laugh.
He let her chew on his big toe for a while. She was definitely in the puppy chewing phase. He thought maybe it would be a good idea to get her some more chew toys. He thought when Randy felt better and he could get some real food in him, they could go out and buy some more chew toys. It would be a nice use of their day.
Eventually, she attempted to jump up on his lap, and he scooped her up mid-jump. She wiggled in his hand and he put her on his lap. He scratched behind her ears and she calmed down, obviously liking that.
Sam felt like he had two kids right now. One was asleep on his shoulder, the other was about to go to sleep on his lap. He only heard the grandfather clock across the living room and Princess's little snuffly noises.
Time ticked by, and he wondered if he could turn on the TV without waking anyone up. But, no doubt it would have been on too loud. As a stage performer, Randy's grandfather often had things on too loud. The radio, the TV. Being on stage had blown out his ears for his whole career. Sam didn't doubt that some day Anais would endure the same thing.
Randy woke up about an hour after he'd slept. Sam checked his blood sugar and he seemed fine. They cleaned up the eggs in the dining room and Randy ordered some lunch for both of them, speaking in quick French.
"What did you order?" Sam asked.
"French dips and fries," Randy said, sitting down at the dining room table.
"No kiddin'?"
"No, I am. I ordered you a bacon cheeseburger."
"What?"
He just nodded. "I got a-" He said something in French. Sam pretended like he understood that.
"Did you really order me a bacon cheeseburger?"
"Yeah. It's a cute little cafe that I saw near here."
Sam had a thought. "Want to cancel the order and just go there?"
"Hmm. I don't know. We'd have to book a table. It's pretty popular. This is the 7th arrondissement anyway. Lots of tourists."
Sam knew that pretty well. "Maybe we can go somewhere nice for dinner."
"Yeah. That would be awesome."
"Is the delivery guy going to come up here?"
"Yeah. My grandmother said she orders from there a lot. They know who we are. They don't normally deliver."
Sam thought that was pretty incredible.
In about twenty minutes, the delivery guy came. Sam spread their meal over the table. The restaurant had included a bunch of extras that apparently Randy's grandmother liked included, such as sides of vegetables. What they had before them was a complete grand meal.
The more Sam was here, the more he saw why Anais had wanted to come here. They often stayed in Paris and throughout France, but this was the first long stay at Randy's grandmother's place. He was seeing the luxuries afforded to Randy's grandparents. The respect Parisians gave them every day. It was a more than comfortable way to live.
They hadn't heard anything from the press about Michael. Nobody was writing anything unfriendly about Anais. The press wasn't mentioning Randy or Maya. They talked about Carter, but not about his parents' divorce. No doubt France was aware of this major thing happening with the family. But you never heard anything. Just all compliments. All good.
Sam wondered about the field day that was happening in the US. Anais had left after all. Cutting Michael off from the kids. She'd left illegally with them. She'd been in contact with her lawyer, but it had been hard. They were still in the process of removing custody temporarily from Michael. It seemed like it would go in her favor, but it was hard going. They had to gather evidence, show them what Michael was doing. Anais still had to see all of it. At least the kids didn't.
Randy was eating some kind of steak strips with an orange sauce on it. It smelled spicy. This made Sam's eyebrow raise.
"What kind of cafe is this?" he asked, looking down at his enormous bacon cheeseburger. It looked absolutely delicious.
"It serves lots of kinds of food. It sounded interesting to me, because my grandmother likes it. My grandfather does, too. It's really different."
"What are you eating?"
"Chinese steak with orange sauce."
"Wow, really?"
"Yeah."
"We need to order from here again."
"Okay." A small smile as he started eating again.
Sam was so happy about his cheeseburger. It made him miss home, realizing how much he missed home. He picked it up and took the most massive bite. It tasted just like home, too. This was the life. It was probably the third time he'd thought that only today.
Eventually, the dogs smelled the food and came in. The puppy laid at Sam's feet. Her quick breaths were like a motor. It had been agreed that this puppy, unlike Darla, wouldn't be enjoying any human food for her health.
After lunch, they took the dogs for a walk. It was a nice day, and Randy had been right. There were a lot of tourists here.
"It's a touristy season. It was just Christmas and new year's is around the corner. Lots of people want to see the fireworks off the Eiffel Tower, so they all stay in the 7th arrondissement."
It made sense.
"Do you want to see the fireworks go off the Eiffel Tower?"
Randy shrugged. "We won't be able to. It'll be a nightmare of gridlock there. Every one of these tourists want to be there."
"I don't know. They might be here for Chanel."
"They're here for Chanel and the fireworks."
Some tourists saw their dogs and especially Princess. They knelt down to pet them. They obviously didn't recognize Randy, and Sam was relieved about that. They asked what the puppy's name was, and they were surprised Sam spoke English. They got to pet her and were friendly enough. They waved good-bye to them and went on.
It made Sam wonder about something, but he didn't want to mention it and upset Randy.
If there were English speaking tourists here, was he worried that one of them would recognize him as Michael's son? Randy's picture must be all over the papers and TV right now in the US. It suddenly struck fear in Sam. All these people. What if someone recognized them and they were mobbed? What would happen to the dogs? But the next moment, he steeled himself. He was, at the end of the day, the family's body guard after all. He just had to make a plan. For now, they were enjoying themselves. That was the important part.
"Oh, that's the cafe we ate from. Cafe de Mars."
Sam looked up and saw a cute cafe. It gave him more perspective. As they walked along casually, they passed stores and more people.
If Randy became mobbed, way more French people knew his family than these tourists. They respected his family, and him. Would they step in? He thought about this.
They went around, seeing places. Sam was mostly tourist watching. Could he tell who was American and who wasn't? He'd never really paid attention before.
He noticed the puppy was getting tired, so he picked her up. She seemed to be enjoying herself, too. Her little tongue was out as she looked around.
"Maybe we'd better turn around. Princess is tired," Sam mentioned. Randy turned around. He'd seemed to be in his own mind, just like Sam had been.
"Okay."
They turned around and started going the other way. It seemed to go a lot quicker.
When they got to the apartment building, the doorman bowed to them and opened the door. Randy smiled at him and Sam stopped to let the doorman pet the puppy. It seemed to brighten his day.
"What is her name?" the doorman asked in heavily accented English.
"Princess," Randy said, giving her a rub between her ears as the doorman massaged her body. Princess looked like she was having the time of her life.
"Oh, la petit dauphine," the doorman grinned, petting her even more. Princess genuinely was having the time of her life.
They waved to him and he waved back. Sam wondered how long he'd been doing his job. He must have been doing it for a while, considering his age. He must know Randy's grandparents very well.
They made it back up to the apartment, and upon letting Princess go, she skittered somewhere else deep into the apartment. Sam knew exactly what he wanted to do with Randy now that the dogs were back in the apartment.
"Let's put Princess in her crate. Let's go get her some toys. She's very chewy. She needs chew toys."
Randy brightened up. "Oh, yes! That sounds fantastic."
Sam was so glad he could make him happy like that. They put Princess in her crate, but as soon as they went to go, Princess started to whine so pathetically. Randy hurried back to her crate and picked her up. She snuggled to him and Randy's lip went out.
"Let's take the dogs with us," Sam suggested.
"They won't let them in the cab."
Ah, the logic. Sam couldn't argue with that. "Well, she's going to have to deal with the crate then. It's a good time to teach her that sometimes she'll be left alone."
"I can't leave her. She doesn't deserve that."
Uh oh. Sam could see clearly that Randy was projecting. Darla chose this opportune time to enter the room, too. Sam picked her up, too.
"Let's see if we can convince a cab to take all of us."
"Okay."
In no time, they were on the street again. But, they didn't have to find a cab. As soon as Sam's arm went out, he felt a poke on his shoulder. He turned around, and the doorman was there.
"I see you have the dogs. Would you like Mr. Barbier's limo?"
Oh, what? Sam was shocked. "Um. Yes, we would."
"Right away, sir." He got out his cellphone immediately.
Sam realized his eyebrows were about in his hair.
"This is perfect. Now we can take the dogs." Randy sounded relieved. "They should pick their own toys, anyway. They'd have more fun with them, that way."
Sam had to agree.
In about ten minutes, the same white limo from last night was in front of them. Sam thought it was excessive, but he also wondered if there was more champagne. As if he could drink it now. He was just a little glitzed.
The driver came out and opened the back door for them. Randy slid in first, then Sam handed Darla to him. He took her, and Sam sat down, too. The door closed and Sam had to look around again. It wasn't any different during the day. It was still lavish and grand.
The driver got in. "If you want something to drink, there's some sodas," the driver called back to them in perfect English. "Check the mini fridge."
"Is there diet?" Randy called back.
"Of course. Mrs. Barbier never goes anywhere without her diet soda."
Perfect. It was too perfect.
"Yay, good," Randy said. "Thank you."
"Of course. May I call you mademoiselle?"
"Uhh..." Randy had to think on that one. "I'll get back to you on that."
"Of course. Where shall we be going today?"
"A pet store," Sam said. "Something with chew toys."
"Absolutely, sir. I know just the one."
Randy popped them open a couple of sodas. Sam took a good sip and leaned back in his seat. He noticed their seatbelts weren't on. He'd been too distracted.
"Oh, seatbelts," he indicated at Randy's waist. He took Randy's soda and watched him buckle. Then Randy took the sodas and Sam buckled. He took his back, and they enjoyed a leisurely time drinking sodas and looking out the windows. The dogs were laid on the floor. The puppy looked unsure, but seemed to be taking cues from Darla not to be intimidated by the situation. It made Sam proud of her. This is what they wanted to teach. Maybe this was a good idea. Making her not afraid of cars.
Eventually, Princess started to whine, unable to overcome her fears. Randy leaned over and indicated for her to come. She did readily. Was this the first trick she'd learned? Sam was impressed. It was a good one to know. Randy scooped her up into his arms and held her close. She calmed with that, snuggled into him. Sam could tell that one day, she and Randy would be inseparable. He knew Anais would be happy about that. That had been the intent with getting him Princess in the first place. A good friend. That's what she felt he needed.
They pulled up in front of a store and the limo driver let them out. They decided to take the dogs for a short walk before going inside. When they were done, they went inside.
There was a colorful array of toys immediately. The puppy's legs skittered all around the floor excitedly. Randy was laughing immediately. Sam couldn't help but smile at her.
"Let her lead you to what she wants," Sam said, already following Darla. "I'll take Darla with us. Come on, Darla. This way."
"Okay, okay. What do you want?" Randy asked Princess, only too happy to indulge her.
She seemed to have a love for pink. Maybe it was the influence of the toys she already had. She nosed a pink bone. Randy picked it up from the lowest tier of the shelf. She looked up at it and amazingly sat down.
Randy gasped. "Good girl! You're sitting!" He wiggled the bone at her and squeaked it and she jumped up.
"Don't reward her jumping," Sam reminded him. "Let her calm down, then give it to her."
"Okay."
Sam picked up some tennis balls like they already had, remembering the game he'd played with them earlier. Darla was sniffing the two lower shelves. She plucked a long green dog out of the second shelf, holding it in her mouth.
"Nope. No dog shaped toys, try again," Sam told her, petting her between the ears and putting it back on a higher shelf.
"Why? She can have it," Randy said.
"She has a new daughter who is dog shaped. I don't want her getting aggressive with a dog shaped toy."
"Oh, you're so right. Good catch."
He picked up a different toy that was similar, wiggling it at her. She didn't respond. They moved on.
After about an hour, they left with a large store branded tote bag full of toys.
"Merry Christmas, puppies," Randy said cheerfully as they left the store. The limo driver was already there, leaning against the car. He opened to door for them.
"And a happy new year," Sam added, shaking the bag for the dogs. They helped the dogs into the car and Randy slid in again.
Sam joined him and Randy reached for a soda again.
"Seatbelt first," Sam gestured to it. Randy nodded and quickly buckled in. Darla obediently laid on the floor of the limo again, and the puppy copied her. "Good puppy," Sam said, making a big deal out of it. Randy followed.
"Good puppy!" he said, grinning so much and clapping. It looked like Princess was getting excited, so they stopped. Sam tossed them both a toy and he was pleased to see that Princess immediately started chewing hard on hers. Well that was one problem fixed. Sam reached over and got a soda, too. It was almost ice cold. This was a hard life to get used to. It was jarring.
"Do you think I can get a violin lesson in today?" Randy asked.
"You can ask. You don't want to practice some more?"
"Hmm..." Randy thought for a few seconds. "I don't know. I think I just miss my routine."
Sam understood that. "I understand that. You can call Yuna when we get back."
"Okay."
Sam really did feel bad for him. This wasn't his fault. He wondered what Reiha would make of this.
"Hmm. Maybe I will just practice when we get home. I know Yuna wants that."
"Good idea."
"Yeah."
They enjoyed being in the car together. Sam noticed the driver seemed to be taking the scenic route. It was gorgeous. They even passed the Eiffel Tower, though it resulted in them being stuck in traffic. What Randy had said was definitely true. The tourists were out in force.
When they got back to the apartment building, Sam thanked the driver. He thanked the doorman again.
"It is alright," the doorman assured him. "We do it for the Barbiers and their friends."
It was incredible. They went inside and up the elevator. Sam betted the dogs were thirsty.
"I'm going to go practice," Randy said.
"Let's check your blood sugar first."
"Okay."
They did that and Randy was a little low. Sam was glad that they'd done that. He gave Randy some peanut butter crackers and Randy sat down to eat them at the dining room table with some water. When he was done, he went to practice violin, and the whole apartment was suddenly filled with Massanet. It was so pleasant that Sam had to sigh. He sat down in the living room with the dog toys and started teasing the dogs with them. They went wild again on the new tennis balls.
Sam decided this was the very best use of his time.
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